BART sustains high ridership during Maze reconstruction

BART sustains high ridership during Maze reconstruction

BART sets ridership records, weekday averages up

BART carried an average of 9,274 more riders each weekday following the collapse of a portion of the MacArthur Maze on Sunday, April 29.

Weekday ridership averaged 355,590 passengers from Monday, April 30 to Thursday, May 24. This was up from the 346,316 riders per weekday BART had been anticipating, for an increase of 2.7% over expected weekday ridership.

From Monday, April 30 through yesterday BART carried 176,204 more weekday passengers than expected as Bay Area residents took advantage of extra BART service while construction crews rebuilt the damaged portion of Highway 580 in the MacArthur Maze.

"The MacArthur Maze mess once again proved that BART will be there when the Bay Area needs us," said BART Board President Lynette Sweet. "BART's ability to handle the extra crowds underscores the importance of transit in keeping the people and the economy of the Bay Area moving. We need to be sure funding for transit is not cut so we can improve and expand our infrastructure to be ready to handle unusual events like the Maze collapse in the future."

RAPID RESPONSE LED TO RECORD RIDERSHIPBART responded quickly in the hours after the collapse, putting a plan in place to safely and reliably carry what would turn out to be a record number of riders. On Tuesday, May 1, BART set its single day record as 375,200 people rode BART to avoid complications from the freeway repairs. On Thursday, May 3, 374,200 people rode BART?the third highest total in BART history.

During the seven-day period from Monday, April 30 to Sunday, May 6, BART carried 2,133,000 passengers?the highest ridership week in BART's nearly 35-year history.

NEW PASSENGERS ENCOURAGED TO KEEP RIDINGBART is anticipating and encouraging all of the riders who discovered the convenience of commuting on BART to continue riding even after the re-opening of the Maze. BART will be closely monitoring the number of passengers using the system and will match train sizes to meet the demand.

"We certainly hope those riders who are new to BART will stay on board. BART is a fast and easy way to commute, BART is better for the environment and with gas prices going through the roof, BART can save you money, too," Sweet said.